The Five Best Mountains in the Lake District
YOU need our expert guide to the five best mountains in the Lake District. We're working our way through all 214 in the Wainwright guidebooks. And while they call them "fells" around here, when you stand on the summit of one of these, you'll feel like you've climbed a mountain!
How to Choose Your Mountain
But where to start? You're not going to manage all 214 in a week (well, unless you're a record-breaking fellrunner) so how do you choose? There will be crowds heading up the popular giants like Scafell Pike and Helvellyn, so we will show you some alternatives. Here's our selection of the five best mountains in the Lake District. And we have the Wainwright guidebooks here at Cedar Manor if you need to borrow one.
Red Screes
1. Red Screes
Here's a typical Lakeland mountain that's got easier and harder ways to the top. We think it's one of the five best mountains in the Lake District, proud and prominent, rising elegantly from the head of Windermere. You will have driven past it if you've gone over the Kirkstone Pass. And you may have ignored it while walking the Fairfield Horseshoe, just one ridge away. But we reckon Red Screes is a beauty. There's a stiff climb up from the car park at the top of Kirkstone Pass, but we like the circular walk from Ambleside. This starts in the village and ends at the door of a great Lakeland pub, the Golden Rule. Take the path to High Sweden Bridge and then continue along the lonely valley of Scandale. Nearing the top of the pass, cut off to the right and follow a wall and rocky track that will take you all the way to the summit. It's a stunning viewpoint, with a dramatic drop below to Kirkstone. But don't worry; your descent is easier. Head south west on a delightful grassy path that's easy to follow and gentle on the knees, all the way down the "nose" of the mountain. At the bottom you'll hit the lower part of the Kirkstone Pass road. Turn right here and it's just a short walk to a well-deserved pint.
Mountain summit: 2546 ft.
Distance: 5 miles
Wainwright guide: Book One, The Eastern Fells
Playlist: Climb every mountain https://open.spotify.com/track/3XL45288C5YSBWXoVZbwaC?creation_point
Blencathra
2. Blencathra
Here's another real mountain experience that we rate as one of the best. Again, there are some tough ways to get to the top, and if you're looking for adventure then try the routes by Hall's Fell ridge or even Sharp Edge. But those are for experienced mountain walkers and scramblers. If you're new to the Lakes, but want to hit the heights, try the easier ways up from Threlkeld by way of Roughten Gill or Blease Fell. Ignore Wainright who is dismissive about these; he loved narrow, airy ridges, but these are both delightful ways to the top.
Mountain summit: 2847ft
Distance: 4-6 miles depending on route
Wainwright guide: Book Five, The Northern Fells
Playlist: River Deep, Mountain High https://open.spotify.com/album/1CbC5Rms2iIhgxvlyslNJh
Lingmoor Fell
3. Lingmoor Fell
They say that small is beautiful, and if you climb Lingmoor Fell, you'll know what they mean. This little mountain is dwarfed by giants in Langdale but it has great views from a well-defined summit. It's covered in crags and quarries, remnants of the industrial past, and there's still a working quarry on the Elterwater side. The slate mined here is used throughout the region. We're sure you'll have been in a Lakeland pub or hotel where slate is a distinctive feature. There's plenty of routes to the top, including a short and steep climb from the car park near Blea Tarn, but we prefer the gentler approach from Little Langdale.
Mountain summit: 1530 ft
Distance: from 2-4 miles depending on route
Wainwright guide: Book Four, The Southern Fells
Playlist: Ain't No Mountain High Enough https://open.spotify.com/track/7tqhbajSfrz2F7E1Z75ASX
Causey Pike
4. Causey Pike
This is is one of the best mountains in the Lake District, and certainly one of the most distinctive. You'll have seen this dimpled summit shape from all sorts of approaches, but perhaps most spectacularly when looking across Derwentwater from the Theatre by the Lake in Keswick. We would recommend the climb from the little village of Stair, maybe going up the direct route on the grassy path to Sleet Hause and coming down via Rowling End. Wainwright said the route is "quite charming, the views superlative, the finish a bit of real mountaineering, and the summit a place of distinctive character". We agree entirely!
Mountain summit: 2090 ft
Distance: 3 miles round trip from Stair
Wainwright guide: Book Six, The North Western Fells
Playlist: Go tell it on the mountain https://open.spotify.com/track/1yQlM1ITvRPzmQKISA1P1p
Loughrigg
5. Loughrigg
Some might say we've saved the best till last. This is certainly one of the lower heights in Lakeland, but Loughrigg is a grand, sprawling fell, crossed with lots of enticing footpaths, secret valleys, little tarns, and a splendid summit. At least, it is now; after the summit trig column was vandalised earlier this year, the fell lost a little of its grandeur, but the column has been rebuilt. And if it's now a little shorter, then it's a good height for resting that flask of coffee (or a gin and tonic, as some friends did recently.) There are lots of routes to the top, but we like the round trip from Ambleside, heading up steeply past Pine Rigg to the open fell, and descending toward Rydal water and the magnificent Loughrigg cave. You must go inside for a Tolkien-esque experience. And here's a little quiz. Which five lakes can you see from the summit? (Rydal isn't one of them).
Mountain summit: 1101 ft
Distance: 5 miles
Wainwright guide: Book Three, The Central Fells
Playlist: Running Up That Hill https://open.spotify.com/track/29d0nY7TzCoi22XBqDQkiP